New Variety

NEW VARIETY
New Variety Improv ad
Company	Goodman & O'Donnell
Genre	Variety / jazz / blues /sketch / improv
Show type	touring / clubs
Location	Chicago Improv
Creative team
Produced by	Thom Goodman, R. O'Donnell, Scott Siegel
Directed & Staged by	R. O'Donnell
Musical Director	Vince Willis George Goetchell
Production Design	Scott Siegel
Other information
Years Active	1992-94

The New Variety is an American cabaret created and produced by Thom Goodman and Richard O'Donnell in the 1990s. It was a fast-paced, ever-changing volley of acts that included award-winning jugglers, fire-eaters, stand-up comics, singers, musicians, and sketch comedy troupes.

In February 1992, producers Thom Goodman (co-founder with J.P. Mayer, CrossCurrents Cabaret Theater, 1978) and R. O’Donnell (founder, New Age Vaudeville) teamed up to present the New Variety, located at 400 N. Clark, downtown Chicago. Modeled after the vaudeville variety shows of the ‘20s and '30s, the New Variety presented an evening’s worth of acts that included jugglers, fire-eaters, comics, singers, musicians, and sketch comedy troupes.

The original location of the New Variety was the upstairs of the Italian restaurant Bellagio. Built specifically for the show, the cabaret was an elegant and intimate 100-seat theater, revealing a sophisticated art deco-style decor. The audience sat at round black tables with green and black chairs around a small black-and-white checkered stage, slightly raised.

Hailed by the Chicago Tribune as a Cabaret for the 90s. the bill included artistic director & host Richard O'Donnell (billed as "R."), jazz band the Vince Willis Trio, juggler extraordinaire Andy Head, drummer Donny DeMarco Jr., tap dancer Ayrie King, stand-up comedy by John Tamborino, and Saxophonist Sarah Underwood, followed by a crowning performance by the incomparable blues chanteuse Barbara LeShoure.